May 3 Blog

What an amazing morning! We got on the buses at 8:30am to go to the National arena, similar in size in size to Exhibition Park in Nova Scotia. We had a photo taken of the whole group of us seated in bleachers. Hopefully Tess or Paul will post one somewhere! We lined up behind the banner for our church province. It was good for all of us to be in the procession this time. At 10am it was 28 degrees and I was really glad we did not have to wear vestments! We entered the arena which had been transformed into a worship space with beautiful sculptures, flowers and hangings. We almost danced in as the calypso music surrounded us! Drummers, a steel band, a massed choir, a choir singing heritage Jamaican songs, incense, a full arena – it was an amazing experience of worship. Archbishop Rowan’s homily focused on the Acts Chapter 4 reading and the phrase in verse 34 “there were no needy persons among them”. He asked in many ways how our Anglican church is providing for those who are “needy” in any way. He asked how we are working to build the Kingdom so that there will be no “needy” people. I hope that the text of the sermon will appear on the Communion web site. I was amazed to find myself singing a Bob Marley tune “One Love, One Heart” during the passing of the Peace! The Liturgical music was a mixture of Merbecke and contemporary Jamaican composers! Somehow it all worked together.

This afternoon we had the opportunity to learn about the work of the networks of the Anglican Communion. They cover a wide range of topics – Refugees and Migrant Workers, Peace and Justice, Indigenous Peoples, Interfaith Relations, Women’s Issues, Youth, Family Life, Health, Urban Issues, Environment and Theological Education. Each network will be presenting workshops over the next two days, so we had a chance to sign up for three only. The three Canadians tried to be strategic about spreading ourselves among them.

Homework is required for tomorrow to prepare for Bible Study as I am one of the facilitators, and for the discussion of an Anglican covenant. The latest version is called the Ridley Cambridge draft and can be found on the Anglican Communion web site www.anglicancommunion.org . There will be a presentation first and then discussion in our Discernment groups. These groups should give everyone who wants to speak a chance to ask questions and speak about the views from their province. Later in the schedule there will a decision making session where we will need to decide whether this draft is ready to go to Provinces for their consideration.

Dinner is an outdoor barbecue tonight. It is a great end to a wonderful Sunday.

+Sue